Sunday, June 15, 2008

It's called the Queens Machine

Imagine, for a moment, a political system in which one party controls the entire area, where nominees are selected by the party committee, and where the "elections" are "free, fair, and honest" but the outcome is predetermined.

Sounds like the Soviet Union? China? Cuba? Perhaps. But I'm talking about most elections right here in the United States of America. Between legislature-controlled districting, "soft money," politicial patronage, the power of incumbency, and the cozy relationship with various special interests, this is the situation here.

That is part of the reason I harp on the party committees who consistently shove grass roots candidates, such as Jimmy Dahroug, Steve Harrison, and Charles Ober, aside in favor of "golden boys" who are either party committee insiders, potential large fundraisers, or relatives of elected officials.

The result is budgets that are overloaded with "member items" that are often no more than bribes to constituents and special interest groups, and bogged down with accounting tricks designed to hide the real debt with which we are saddling the next generation. The result is corruption running rampant -- it's a safe bet that Vito Fossella's moral terpitude is far from the worst acts of NYC House members, just on the odds. The result is a general feeling among the populace that it's just not worth getting involved, even to the extent of showing up at the voting booth, because the system is rigged (which it is!).

10 comments:

I have voted in every election and have been involved for fifty years and I am finding it difficult to continue.

I just finished hours of work trying to track down a minimum of $200,000 for a very small project. The project itself has disappeared from the Park's Department's site, even though I can see it from my window.

Soviet style electionsThey don't want the voters to have a chance to choose. That is why non elected governor Paterson gave State Senator a non show job as head of the state take over of OTB.

The Machine when with Monserrate over Sabini this year after Monserrate threaten to run for Congress against Crowley.

Crowley congressial district is increasly hispanic and in the Bronx

Everyone wins except the public. Crowley gets no race, Sabini gets a no show job for 160,000. The governor gains support within the Queens machine for his reelection. Monserrate wins by staying in office - he was to be force out next year by term limits.

You can sit and blame anyone you want for Crowley's loss. Ober, the campaign manager, Maltese, Baldeo, the voters or whomever you want. Nevertheless, if Crowley needed Ober to endorse her or back out of the race in order to win that tells you something of Crowley's own support in our neighborhoods. If a little unknown named Charles Ober can cause this much of an uproar in a race that clearly should have been won by an enormous amount of votes, given the money and the deals made to give this seat to the congressman's cousin, then something else is wrong.

Let's see, you had Assemblywoman Nolan, purportedly Ober was one of Nolan's biggest supporters and liaisons, in the past, City Councilman Addabbo, who Ober has contributed to for years and now for his bid for the senate seat, Assemblywoman Pheffer, all turn on Ober. You had the Lesbian and Gay community sell out on one of their own, on their own platform of gay marriage to endorse Crowley, who is absolutely against gay marriage and has said so, for a guarantee that Daniel Dromm would be tapped for his bid for city council next year. Ober's own club, of which he is president, which is clearly controlled by Nolan, decided to endorse no one in this race. Jobs were threatened by not only party insiders but of other prominent public officials. People were forced to get signatures for Crowley's campaign and more favors were pulled in this race than many of us have seen in years. However, a little unknown named Charles Ober caused this much stir, you have to say to yourself hmmmmmm.

"What have you done for us lately" Lets see, what has Crowley done for her community to deserve the voters to vote for her? What exactly is her claim to fame except that she was involved with her parents campaign, her cousin's campaign and everyone else's campaign and that qualifies her to run? Lets see, her sister just ran for a seat on their own local community board, and she lost not once, not twice, not even three times, but she lost 4 different attempts to be on the executive board of Queens Community Board #5 and that was clearly only after Elizabeth Crowley herself went to speak on her own sisters behalf for her to win the seat. Did Ober sabotage that? Did Ober's run help defeat Crowley's sister in her own community board? Or did Baldeo cause this problem too?

NO ONE has a right to run for office if they are going to be lazy and unproductive, in their own communities. What happened to activism and civic work? Years ago your politicians had years of experience in working for the community and were popular for running on their own accomplishments, not that they had to run on someone else's successes. It is sad that people will continue to try to blame others for their own loses. The result is what have you done to serve the people to help yourself get elected. Why did Crowley have to go door to door to the voters and beg for their votes? Why didn't she realize 7 years ago that she was going to run for office? Maybe then she should have started her run? Not 7 years later, 200,000 dollars later and then just expect the community to stop and vote for her. Her own arrogance defeated her, and so you have to work for the community if you want to be elected to a seat in the city council.

Ober lost on account of his not being that well known. Because in the long run Ober not only has a better resume and is more dedicated to the communities, but he is not the subject of any investigations, or any allegations, nor is he disliked by the people, on the contrary, except for those that are making back room deals for tax payer funded jobs. He is absolutely independent of being controlled by anyone, and he is more personable than Crowley will ever be. What is more sad is the parties inability to accept that maybe there really is a better candidate, a more qualified candidate for city council and maybe the party should be backing Charles Ober, the civic leader, rather than Elizabeth Crowley, the congressman's cousin?

Crowley also spells out degrees and schooling as part of her resume, meanwhile the schools she has listed, Pratt and SUNY Fashion Institute, where she claims she went on to earn her degrees, denies that she even attended the schools, let alone has the degrees or academic studies she says she has. Consequently, Elizabeth Crowley will say anything to get elected even make up schooling to do so. Therefore, who really upset this election Ober or Crowley's own lack of personality, lack of community support, lack of education or her own lying mouth?

This should also send a message to the voters of what kind of leader our very own leaders are supporting for their own districts. Did Nolan forget that years ago she had to fight the party for her own race? Now these very same politicians, who were fighting county years ago and are now in bed with them, want to endorse a candidate that has done nothing for their communities they represent and endorse someone that lies about their own schooling. Maybe we should be looking at our representatives that are already in office and see the kind of people they are endorsing and decide if truthfully this is the kind of person, we want to continue to represent us. It is also purported that this is not the first time that Cathy Nolan has turned against her own club President. If this is the kind of loyalty that Nolan has towards people that are in her inner circle (who are the people that have made her look good all these years) what kind of loyalty is there towards the voters and the community she represents. The word loyalty and honor mean nothing in the dictionary of Cathy Nolan. Cathy Nolan is an embarrassment towards herself, her own club, the assembly and the civic community, when she not only threatened members of her own club to not support Ober, but she further sent out a letter to all the members of the club spewing hateful things against and about Ober, her own club president, and then ends the letter with, please do not send this to Charlie. However, it was only last year when Nolan was flaunting Ober around as the savior of the club who was credited with moving the club forward in the right direction and assisting to restore the club to its original design, but he is not good enough to become city councilman because Crowley is the chosen one and Nolan must do as she is told to do, not as she genuinely believes is best for her district. Isn't this the kind of home grown representatives that end up becoming part of the problem instead of the solution?

Ober has worked endlessly for the club to help generate new members, to bring people of color on the committee and to bridge the club with the community. Ober has been honored for his work in the club by the very same people who have turned against him, for the sake of pleasing Nolan. Do they not know the meaning of the word friendship? Just imagine how lonely these people will be years from now when they have caused all their friends to shift away from them on account of their disloyalties in serving the community. What kind of people turn on their own club president because Nolan is threatening not to be their friend anymore? Are we back in grade school where 5 year olds act this way?

Maybe the question should be asked of Crowley, to step aside, for someone as honorable as Charles Ober, who has more integrity, accomplishments and community involvement, then Crowley will ever have. That would be the correct thing to do. The community has spoken not once but twice, and they clearly do not want Elizabeth Crowley to represent them. As a result, lets try someone that is honorable, respectful, trusting and LOYAL, something that our own leaders and representatives have clearly sold out for their own right to run without any opposition. Because in the long run isn't that what this really is about, not having to run opposed because they know they may have to run on a questionable record of their own and their own characters and decisions will come back to haunt them. Isn't that what this is truly about, making back room deals that cause friendships to break, people to turn on each other and clubs to turn on their hard working leaders because people like Nolan sell their soul for politics and relationships and it all means nothing anymore. Is this the kind of politician we elected into office or did the office corrupt them to think this way?

We in the community clearly hope that Ober runs again. He has "set the bar" higher than our community has been used to. We have been dealt questionable candidates for many years. We have been part of the back room dealing with the Democrats and the Republicans that made our community famous for its corrupt way of not running candidates against those that made deals with the parties. Even so, power is still being craved by some who still think it is OK to make back room deals and threaten people's jobs and funding, for a favor.

Furthermore, whether Crowley runs or not she will not win because the community sees right through her. Her phoniness, her lack of community spirit, her own ego trip, her lying excerpts and her known vicious ways of attaining whatever she wants will once again defeat her. One also needs to ask the question of, is she still on the payroll of DC 9 and if so, how and why, because we all want a job like that and make over 100 grand a year for running for office and in reality, having a no show job.

Yes, sir, you can blame anyone you want for this loss, but ultimately you need to look in your own backyards because times have changed, people have changed, communities have changed and our neighborhoods have changed, and they are tired of the old corrupt ways of outsiders deciding who is going to represent us in our communities. I have to sit and wonder how many of these people in county even live in Queens let alone have any ties to our neighborhoods, yet they attempt to make the decision of who is going to represent us in our communities.

Ober should run and not be bullied by people who have compromised their morals, principles, values and integrity simply because they do not want to have an opponent, or they are trying to suck up to county for future endeavors. Rather than support someone like Ober, that is not only good and decent, but who can make a difference in our community, our own leaders will do, whatever they are told rather than what is best for their neighborhoods they represent, that's if they even are tied to the 30th. This should allow the voters to see who their own representatives are endorsing and question why they are endorsing someone that has never so much as lifted a finger to help her own neighborhood. Let alone attempt to represent an entire district.

In closing you only have to look at city agencies such as Dept. of Environmental control, Dept. of Transportation, Board. Of Elections, and other such agencies that require no testing to get the job but only that you are being given a job as patronage from the county leaders for giving up your friends and loyalty for a job and not because they are qualified. If the Dept. of Justice is really investigating this election they must also take into consideration all the perks that go along with defrauding the voters such as patronage jobs, pet funding projects and control of many people's lives and jobs that have been affected by this immoral and corrupt system we live with here in NYC. It is only more evident here in Queens where our county board of elections employ's all of counties people, both Republican and Democratic party hacks, who are appointed those precious tax funded jobs that we pay for and the party abuses for their own disloyalties of their people to their friends. Every single job at the Board. Of Elections on the day of the elections are all appointed to by who they know, and what they have done for their party, that's the only qualification. Yes, sir, if the Dept. of Justice wants to start an investigation they have plenty to go on right here starting with the county BD of Elections and how they ALL attained their jobs and who they ALL Knew to get hired. All they have to do is conduct an investigation and ask the hard questions that need to be asked, and they will find out who was threatened and who was told they would not have a job tomorrow if they supported Ober.

Ober represents what is right in politics. Ober represents that there are people that can and do live clean honorable lives and do not compromise themselves for someone else's greed or desires. Ober stands for what is right about civic work. Ober stands for the hard working people who want someone that is honest and loyal to represent them. Tony Avella said it the best. "It is people like Charles Ober that we want to elect into the city council. Charles Ober is exactly who we should be electing into office." Ober is a hard working civic leader who stands for the right way and not the compromised way. Not the machine way nor the corrupt way. Ober did not have to threaten people to support him or give money to him. Ober did not have to threaten peoples jobs to get help. He received the help of the community because the community wants him in office and we hope that he has the opportunity to represent us when the time comes.

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